Mechanism for controlling the operation of machines and apparatus



" G. TER MEER MECHANISM FOR CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF MACHINES AND APPARATUS June 16, 1925. 1,542,400

Filed April 30, 1921 Patented June 16, 1925.

UNITED STATES GUSTAV TER MEER, 0F HANOVER, GERMANY.

MECHANISM FOR CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF MACHINES AND APPARATUS.

Application led April 30, 1921.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, GUSTAV TER MEER, a citizen of the Republic of Germany` and a resident of Hanover, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanism for Controlling the Operation of Machines 4and Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is designed for use in connection with various different kinds of machines and apparatus in which it is desired that certain functions, operations or series of steps be automatically repeated in proper sequence, at regular or controllable intervals, for instance, at the befrinning or end of a main working period. s a typical example of a machine in connection with which my invention is particularly useful I might mention a centrifugal machine for separating the solid matter from sludge, slime or sewage. In my Patent No. 1,094,230, issued April 21st, 1914, I have illustrated such a machine in which the following operations or steps arl` performed during a. complete cycle of operations.

(1) Shutting off the supply of material operated on, after a sufficient quantity has entered the drum or has gone through the same, so that the drum is filled up to the desired limit with solid material.

` (2) Inserting Siphon pipe to take out the liquid remaining in the drum and not able toflow out over the overflow-edge.

. (3) Removing the Siphon-pipe. j

(4) Opening Ithe drum casing, to permit the discharge of material.

' (5) Closing the drum casing.

(6) Admitting fresh material by opening the supply conduit.

My invention in its most specific application is concerned with improvements upon the control means of my Patent No. 1,284,125, granted November 5, 1918, the latter patent being more particularly concerned with the automatic performance-of the above steps in centrifugal machines. .Irthis patent means is shown and claimed for setting the duration of the main working period or interval according to variations in the material to be treated. The time between the opening of the supply conduit to admit fresh material and the closing of the supply conduit after a sufiicient quantity has entered, will vary widely with the kind of material to be treated, to assure filling the drum to the desired limit ,with solidmaterial before shutting olf Serial No. 465,827.

the supply. According to the invention with which Patent No. 1,284,125 is concerned, means is provided for setting the apparatus to feed material to the machine during each cycle of operation for a period of time suited to the composition thereof The individual steps in the operation of the centrifugal machine as, for instance, the insertion and removal of the siphon pipes and the drawing down and up of the drum wall requires an equal time even where materials varying widely in character are to be treated although the time interval, as above noted between the starting and stopping of the feed of material may vary widely. My A present invention in-the form illustrated concerned with means whereby the time intervals during which centrifugal action takes place without additional feed of material may be varied according to the composition of this material. Thus, by my presentin.- vention I can vary the interval after shut- Yting off the supply of material and before inserting the Siphon pipe, so as to allow just suflicient time for clearing of the liquid regardless of the character of the material.

In the preferred embodiment, as in my Patent No. 1,284,125, a control cam shaft is employed and set into operation at definite intervals to operate the various controls, all of the control operations taking place consecutively during one revolution of the control shaft. According to my present invention, I provide means for dividing the automatic control operation' in any cycle into two or more steps permitting undisturbed centrifugal operation of the machine to take lace in the interim between the steps making up) the operation of any one control cycle. referably this arrangement is made adjustable in accordance Ywith the needs.

Where 'material of hi hly' fluid character is operated upon by t e machine it may be that in the maximum period for centrif-s* ugal action usually provided between successive cycles of' control actions, so little of the solid material is separated that the siphon tube cannot take off all of the liquid, and that in the removal of the solid' material from the machine a quantity of liquid may pass out therewith. To avoid this difficulty my invention provides a readily adinstable arrangement whereby certain operatiofns, such as, for instance, the lowering and raisin ery of the solld material. may be omitted.

of the drum for the delivin certain control cycles and occur at intervals of selected duration, greater than for the other operations, say, for instance, every third or four control cycle, thereby allowing a much greater period of centrifugal action for the separation of the solid material between' successive openings of the drum, while allowing the Siphon tube to come into action with the usual frequency.

Although the invention has its preferred application to centrifugal machines, it will be understood that the invention is of broad application to any apparatus in which a. succession of controlling steps are to be automatically performed in a definite order. In any such apparatus, my invention can he applied to automatically perform any or all of the followingr adjustments each independently of the other: to set the duration of the individual control steps to ldesired value, to adjust the intervals between the control steps and to produce different cycles of operation in a definite cyclic order, broadly, or in a more specific application to omit any step of the cycle at desired intervals.

In the accompanyingr drawings I have illustrated one form which my invention may assume constituting a desirable control apparatus for centrifugal machines, but as various changes may be made in details of construction and arrangement of parts w1thin the scope of my inrention as defined in the appendedclaims, I desire these drawings to be considered in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense. In these4 drawings in which similar reference characters represent similar parts of the corresponding views:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of the control means for a preferred form of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a detail view of one of the clutch members, and,

Fig. 3 is'a plan view.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings:

I have shown the driving shaft 1 supported in bearings 2 and operated from a sprocket wheel 3, in alignment with a cam or control shaft 4, the latter mounted in a bearing -5 and carrying a plurality of cams 6, 7 and 8 by which the control members of the centrifugal machine or other apparatus are actuated. The driving shaft and control shaft are connected through a normally disengaged one-way clutch comprising a driving member 9 having teeth 10 and a driven member 11 pinned to the shaft 4 and having teeth 12 adapted to intermesh with the teeth 10. The driving shaft 1 carries a worm` 13 disposed between the bearings 2 .and meshing with a WQUDA wheel 14 journaled between bracket arms 40, 41 on the frame which carries the bearing 2. A control lever l5 pivoted intel'- mediate its ends to a branch arm 15 of the li-racket arm 40 is connected at one e'nd to the hub of clutch member 11 for shifting the latter into and out of operative connection and has an inclined tooth 16 ar ranged in the path of one or more pins 1 7 p-laced at selected and, in general, at unlform intervals in holes 18 near the periphery of the worm wheel. A coil spring 19 is secured to the upper end of the lever 15 at one end and adjustabl)v secured to a desired fixed point as at 20. thus urglng the slidable clutch member 1l toward inoperative or disengaged position. At the surface of the bearingl 5 adjacent the slidable clutch member is provided a camlshaped tooth 21. The construction thus far described may be identical with that of my Patent No. 1,284,125.

According to my present invention I provide at the end of thc hub of clutch member 11 a plurality. preferably two, notches .22. 23 each complementary in shape to tooth 21 to cooperate in succession with the tooth 21 on the bearing, as the control shaft is rotated by the driving shaft. In addition to the Worm Wheel or main control disk I provide a supplementary control disk 24 having a plurality of holes 25 nea-r its periphery, preferably at the same angular intervals as the holes 18. Pins 27 may be inserted in any one or more of the holes 25. The two disks are normally rigidly connected, but one is adjustable about its axis in respect to the other. In normal setting the holes in the two disks are out of radial alignment with each other. The lever 15 preferably has a second tooth 26 rigid with but spaced from the tooth 16 the latter being in the path of the pins 17 on the main disk 14 and the tooth 26 in the path of the pins 27 on disk 24. 1

In operation, it will be seen that when a pin 17 comes into coa'ction with the tooth 16 on the lever 15 as a result of the rotation of the worm wheel imparted by the rotation of the operating shaft 1, the lever 15 will he shifted about its pivot on arm 15 against the resistance of the spring 19 and will force the clutch into operative position. As soon as the control shaft starts rotation, the notch 22 in the hub of the clutch will have a position opposite to the cam-shaped tooth 21 on the bearing 5 and the high portion of said clutch hub will maintain lthe clutch inA closed position. The operating shaft will thereupon turn the control shaft and through certain of the .cams 6, 7, 8 etc.. the corresponding controlling elements will be actuated until the other notch 23 comes into alignment with the tooth 21. As shown this is reached after a half FQVOhltOn 0f the control shaft. As soon as this occurs the spring 19 will cause quick withdrawal of the slidable 4clutch member away from the stationary clutch member and will thus disengage the control shaft from operative connection. After a selected interval the driving shaft 1 in its rotation will bring a pin 27 'on the supplementary disk member 24 into cooperation with the tooth 26 on the lever 15 and the clutch will be engaged by the same operation as above described and will be maintained in engaged position for the remainder of the rotation of the control shaft. that is, for the second half-turn, the remainder of the control actions in a control cycle taking place by virtue of this latter operation. As the operation proceeds, the pins on the main disk 14 and the intermediate pins on the supplementary disk 24 will alternately operate the lever 15, `the control shaft being rotated through a half revolution following each pin Contact. The disk 24, as above noted being adjustable about the axis of main disk 14. the intervals between the operation by a pin 17 and the succeeding intermediate pin 27 may be varied at will withoutvarying the interval between operations by two successive pins 17 on the main disk. By'this adjustment, it is apparent that the idle period of the control shaft between the two half turns in which a complete control cycle is performed, may be varied at will.

Thus, in the operation of the machine, the pins in the main disk 14 will be set at appropriate intervals to allow for the required period of undisturbed centrifugal action between successive initiations of the control cycle, intermediate pins being set upon the supplementary disk 24 equal in number to those upon the main disk, said intermediate pins being ont of radial alignment with the main pins and the auxiliary disk being set in a position such that the interval between the first half rotation of the control shaft and the second half rotation thereof shall be appropriate to the character of the material to be treated.

There may be only a single pin 17 and a single pin 27, the number depending upon the gear ratio of the driving shaft and the apparatus to be controlled.

In a possible application of the invention the supply of material is first shut off as a result of one cam acting during the first half rotation of the control shaft. The insertion of the Siphon pipe is, however, deferred until the second half rotation of said shaft, the yintermediate interval during which the controlpshaft is idle being timed to such duration as to allow the liquid to become entirely cleared before the siphon pipe is inserted.

In operation, upon a material of very .Huid Character, that iS, upon material heving a low proportion of solid constituent, so small a quantity of solid would be separated by the centrifugal operation that the Siphon could not remove all of the liquid, a considerable quantity of liquid remaining with the solid and delivered with it when the latter is delivered from the machine. In such cases it is desirable to omit lowering the drum wall for delivering solid material during such intervals as are required for accumulation of a sutlicient quantity of solid in the drum. For instance, the wall may be lowered every fourth control cycle and left closed during the intermediate cycles.

For this purpose, I preferably arrange say the cam which controls the operation of the slidable drum wall for instance the cam 6 in slidable relation upon control shaft 4 and I provide a control mechanism similar to that used for controlling the clutch in order to shift the cam out of engagement and maintain it out of engagement with the element actuated thereby, for a desired interval. allowing it to remain in engagement therewith, only during the control cycles in which the wall lowering operation is to take place.

Preferabl I provide a hub 30 in the rear of the slida le cam 6 connected with a con-- trol lever 31 pivoted to a branch on bracket arm 41 and having a tooth 32 at its forward end, cooperating preferably with pins 34 at appropriate intervals projecting from the rear of disk 14. This tooth may be similar in form to tooth 26. A spring 42 similar to spring 19 is preferably employed for normally maintaining the arm 41 in operative position as shown. Certain or all of the Ipins 27 may be of such length that their ends project through the disk 14 to form the pins 34. These pins 34 act on lever 31 to intermittently hold the cam 16 out of operative position, the spring 42 returning it to position after the pin 34 has been rotated out of engagement with tooth 32. The pins 34 may be disposed at any desired angular interval. For instance, if only every fourth pin 27 vprojects through the disk to form a pin 34, cam 6 will be shifted to operative position only every fourth control cycle. Thus, 'in normal operation, the control cycles will take place without the actuation of the cam 6, the latter being actuated only at definite intervals longer than that between control cycles.

Having thus described my invention. what I claim as never and desire to secure b v Letters Patent is`:-

1. In an automatic controlling apparatus, the combination of, a driving shaft, a controll shaft having a plurality of cams mounted thereon in fixed position against rotation relative thereto each for governing a separate step in the Cycle of operations .t9

be performed by the controlled apparatus, and means for alternately connect-ing and disconnecting one of said cams with respect to the apparatus controlled thereby to omit or include a step in the cycle, said mea-ns being controlled from said driving shaft.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, in which one of the cams issh'iftably arranged upon the cam-shaft and connected with respect to said driving shaft to be alternately shifted into and out of operative position.

3. ln automatic control apparatus. in combinat'ion` a control shaft having a plurality of cams thereon. one of said cams being arranged for sliding adjustment along said shaft into and out of coaction with the apparatus to be controlled thereby, means for intermittently sett-ing said shaft into rotation for performing the controlling operations, and means connected to said slidable cam for intermittently shifting the same between inoperative and operative positions, said first mentioned means and said cam shifting means being independently adjustable to vary the intervals between operations at will.

4. In automatic control apparatus, in combination. a control shaft having a. plurality of cams for performing a succession of controlling operations in a definite order, one of said cams being slidably arranged upon said shaft to be disposed into or out of operative connection, driving means for said control shaft, a disc driven from said driving means. a lever connected at one end to said slidable cam, said disc having irregularities in the path of a. portion of said lever, whereby as each irregularity reaches the lever, the cam will be shifted in one direction. and means for returning the cam to its original position after each irregularity has passed.

5. Tn automatic control apparatus, in combination a control shaft having a plurality of cams for performing controlling opera-l tions in a definite cyclic order, means for intermittently driving said control shaft in one direction through a. portion of a revolution, means for adjust-ing the length of intervals at will between the successive angular rotations, and means for setting one of said cams to automatically perform its operation at intervals different from that be tween beginnings of successive control cycles.

6. Automatic control apparatus including a control shaft having a plurality of cams for performing a series of different operations in definite cyclic order during a single complete revolution of the shaft, means for intermittently driving said shaft through separate successive portions of a revolution, and means for adjusting at will the length of the intervals between successive partial revolutions.

7. Automatic control apparatus including a control shaft having a plurality of cams for performing different operations in a definite cycle during rotation of the shaft, a drive shaft, clutch connections between said drive shaft and said control shaft, means operated from said drive shaft for controlling said clutch mechanism, said last mentioned means including relatively adjustable parts for varying at will the length of the intervals between successive partial rotations of said control shaft, and thereby varying the time interval between different operations in the complete controlled cycle.

8. Automatic control apparatus including a control shaft having means for starting and stopping a series of different operations making up a complete cycle, during a single complete revolution of said shaft, a drive shaft, clutch connections between said shafts, means for automatically disengaging said clutch connections after engaged rotation through successive predetermined partial revolutions, a disk driven by said drive shaft but at a lower speed, and means operated by said disk for engaging said clutch connections. said means including relatively adjustable parts whereby the time interval between successive partial revolutions of said shaft may be varied.

9. Automatic control apparatus, including a control shaft having a plurality of cams for performing different operations in a definiteI cyclic order, a drive shaft, clutch connections between said shafts, and means for rendering one of said cams inoperative during predetermined revolutions of said control shaft, whereby one controlled operation may be omitted from the cycle.

10. Automatic control apparatus, including a control shaft having a plurality of cams for performing different operations in a definite cyclic order during a revolution of the shaft, means for intermittently rotating said shaft, and means for rendering one of said cams inoperative during certain rotations and rendering it operative during other rotations of said shaft.

11. Automatic control apparatus, including a control shaft having a plurality of cams for performing different operations in a definite cyclic order during a revolution of the shaft, a drive shaft` clutch connections between said shafts, a disk rotated by said drive shaft but at lower speed, means operated from said disk for controlling said clutch connections, and means also operated by said disk for rendering one of said cams inoperative during certain rotations of the shaft and permitting its operation during other rotations of said shaft.

Signed at Hanover, in the State of Prussia and Republic of Germany, this seventeenth day of December A. D. 1920.

DR. ING. GUSTAV TER MEER. 

